MC's Surprise Sick Day Visitor
by UglyTurnip
Summary: After a particularly terrible cold forces MC to stay home from school, a certain pink-haired visitor comes to check up on him. Another shameless Natsuki fluff story.


Hearing the door creak open, MC stirred from his nap, titled his head his head in the direction of the noise. Through the fog of sickly fatigue clouding his mind, he was able to make out the figure standing there after a moment, a tray held tightly in her hands. When he deciphered who exactly it was, he nearly found himself shocked enough to sit up, nearly, but not quite.

"N-Natsuki?" He croaked. He winced a moment later, not from any sort of pain, but from the embarrassment of his own voice. It was weak and scratchy, probably only barely audible to her. He felt pitiful in two ways now, and he resorted to sinking the lower half of his face under the blanket.

Natsuki swallowed, a look of pity present in her face. It was a good thing MC was too busy burying his face underneath the covers, or else she'd have. . . Do something. She couldn't let him know how she felt, not yet, anyway. The time would have to be just right.

"Hey, dummy," she greeted with a smirk. That was enough to make him peek out and look at her. His amber eyes were half-lidded, and he seemed to be making quite the effort to keep them even that open. The expression was enough to make Natsuki feel his fatigue, but she kept her alert frown, regardless.

"W-what are you doing here?" MC inquired. He followed the inquisition with a sneeze. He had awoken that morning with puffy eyes, a runny nose, and, somehow, less energy than he possessed the night before. Sayori had texted him after he failed to show up to walk with her, and he had informed the club of his terrible ailment. It didn't surprise him that Natsuki knew; it surprised him that she was there.

Natsuki scoffed. "Duh, I heard you were sick. With your parents gone all the time, I thought that somebody had to take care of you, so we. . . Er, drew straws."

She had lied. In reality, she had jumped at the opportunity, but he didn't have to know that. He'd think she was a total loser to willingly throw away an afternoon just to babysit him.

And yet, in spite of her rude behavior, MC smiled. Natsuki felt the heat in her cheeks, and she was all the more ashamed. She didn't deserve him, not with the way she treated him on a daily basis. Her spiteful behavior, half a front and half a legitimate bitterness, drove potential friends away. In turn, that left her with nobody else to feel vulnerable around. With nobody she could trust to feel vulnerable around, she could never let her front break. She was trapped within an endless cycle.

But he was different, and that was why she loved him. Now, carrying a tray containing hot chicken soup and a glass of orange juice, she made her way over to his bed and set it on the nightstand. It was only once it was nearby that MC acknowledged it.

"O-oh, thanks," he spoke as he grabbed the juice and drank the whole glass in one go. He cleared his throat, set the glass on the tray again, and flashed Natsuki a smile. Her heart skipped a beat. "I appreciate it."

Natsuki found herself unable to look him in the eye. Instead, she opted to cross her arms and glance at a poster on the wall for some shonen anime that she was unfamiliar with. It looked interesting. Maybe she could get him to watch it with her.

Who was she kidding? Why would he waste time with someone like her? Sayori probably already had him wrapped around her finger, the lucky girl.

"Natsuki? What's wrong?

She jumped. She had probably allowed her front to slip, so she stiffened her face into a glare once more. "What? Nothing's wrong! I was just thinking to myself!"

"Oh," MC muttered in response, punctuating it with a serious of coughs. Instinctively, Natsuki's expression softened. She hated to see him in pain, no matter what she said to him face-to-face. "I was just curious."

"What is there to be curious about?" Natsuki prodded.

"You just seemed so troubled," MC explained, glancing up at the ceiling. "You know, if there's anything you want to talk about, we can," he paused to cough once more. "It's the least I could do after all you're doing for me."

For a moment, Natsuki smiled as her heart was set aflutter. Maybe he was too oblivious to see it, but he always put the concerns of others over himself. That was one of the many reasons she loved him. Another was that he never seemed to think less of her for her tastes, though it was also true that many of hers overlapped with his. Still, she had heard the whispers and judgmental remarks both at home and at school throughout her entire life. Having someone that not only liked her in spite of those tastes, but also loved them just as much? That was a wonderful thing, indeed.

Too wonderful to risk spoiling with a confession. What if he didn't feel the same way? How would she be able to stomach being around someone that turned her down? She didn't think she could.

"It's nothing that you need to worry about," Natsuki argued, crossing her arms in front of her small frame. She did that often when she felt vulnerable, a fact that MC should have caught on to if he wasn't so oblivious. Still, she meant every word of what she said, and her heartbeat quickened due to worrisome anticipation.

MC merely nodded and smiled. "That's OK, I understand," he assured, and he left it at that.

Sayori and Monika would have prodded repeatedly; others would have belittled or insulted her. The fact that MC did neither, the fact that he understood privacy, it only made her want to confess all the more . However, she only swallowed and smiled. "T-thanks," she offered, locking eyes with him. Her knees wobbled. She felt her cheeks burn. "R-really, thank you. So, do you need anything?"

MC gazed up at the ceiling for a moment, and only a curious hum from Natsuki got him to turn back to her. Through the irritation and pain, he nevertheless succeeded in flashing her a big grin. "Nah, I think I'm goo. You can go home if you want."

Natsuki snorted, not in the mock frustration she often used as a front, but in the attempt to hold back a chuckle. She matched his grin with her own. "And spend my night waiting for Papa to come home? As if!"

Papa was never home anymore. He worked too often. There had been rumors going around in school, nasty, long-standing ones, that Papa abused her. No matter how many times Natsuki fervently denied them, ignored them, or actively avoided them, they somehow always resurfaced, the worst Papa did was sometimes forget to pack her lunch. With how busy he was, Natsuki understood those were little more than accidents.

Still, it made her home life very lonely, very empty.

Natsuki eyes watered a bit as she smiled at MC. They were not tears of sorrow.

When he started coming over, he had unwittingly brought life to a place that had felt so devoid for years on end. He was so special, Natsuki would have gladly traded places with him in a heartbeat.

Why did he have to be such a dummy?

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Natsuki chuckled awkwardly. She awkwardly tapped her fingers together, then inhaled. "S-so, you won't mind if I stay, r-right? J-just to make you feel better, of course!"

MC shook his head. "I don't mind at all."

He followed that statement with a long yawn, then a harsh sniffle.

"I may not to be too exciting, though," he admitted with a shrug. "I kinda just wanna sleep and cough."

"That's fine," Natsuki assured. "As long as I get to be with you, it's alright by me."

MC raised an eyebrow. "Huh, what do you-"

Natsuki's eyes widened as she realized what she had said. "N-nothing!" she exclaimed. "It's just. . . I can't leave you be in a time like this. What are club members for?"

"For reading manga together?" MC rhetorically questioned.

"F-fine, what are _friends_ for?" Natsuki rephrased, slightly annoyed.

MC chuckled. He saw that she was flustered, even if for the wrong reasons. "Gotcha."

Natsuki wanted to say something snarky, but her mind went blank. Eventually, she simply shrugged. "It's not the only thing you got."

MC nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Anyway, I think I'm gonna try to go back to sleep. Sorry for not being more exciting."

Natsuki nodded. "I-it's no trouble at all."

With those words, the room went quiet, save for the soft breathing of MC. Natsuki took a seat from his desk, grabbed a random volume of manga from one of the drawers, and began to flip through the pages over the course of a few minutes. She had read through most of his collection of shonens, and the one she had in her hands now was no different. Setting it aside, she glanced back at MC. His eyes were shut. His chest rose and fell. His breathing, in spite of his stuffy nose, was soft and gentle.

She swallowed. Nerves were getting the best of her once again.

"H-hey, MC? Are you still awake?" she whispered

No answer.

"M-MC?"

She was met with the same stillness.

Rising from her chair, she snuck over to the side of his bed and ran a hand over his forehead. It was hot to the touch, not that she expected any less. She sighed.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this," she whispered once again. "I. . . I love you."

Then, right on cue, an idea graced her mind. It was a dumb idea, she knew that before even acting upon it, but act upon it she did. Gently, gracefully, she brought her lips down to MC's forehead, kissed him ever so gently, and rose.

Her heart was beating at a million miles per hour. Her face, however, beamed.

Deciding to let him sleep, she turned away and started to head for the door. She was just about to walk out when something stopped her.

"N-Natsuki?" MC groaned.

She froze. She could already feel the sweat beading on her head. "Y-y-yes?"

"I wasn't asleep," he answered.

A shriek escaped Natsuki as she tore her way out of the room and down the stairs. He heard he call out "S-shut up, dummy!" as she ran.

He ran a hand across the spot where she had kissed him. Then, he smiled.

"I love you, too," he muttered, not that she would hear him. Regardless, now that the room was peaceful once more, he leaned back on the pillow, closed his eyes, and fell asleep in no time at all.

Downstairs, Natsuki was busy smacking herself across the face repeatedly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she scolded repeatedly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"


End file.
